JP2014010809A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support a user to drive through a rotary intersection.SOLUTION: At a rotary intersection with multiple entrances/exits, the existence of pedestrians at each of the entrances/exits is detected and the detection result is recorded. In the case where an own vehicle enters any of the entrances/exits, whether or not there are any pedestrians at the entrance/exit is determined according to the recorded detection result, and a notification regarding pedestrians is provided if a pedestrian(s) exists at the entrance/exit. Images obtained by a camera 112 placed with the travelling direction of the own vehicle as its photographic target range, and the like are used to detect pedestrians.

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle at a rotary intersection.

  The rotary intersection is an intersection that exits from a desired entrance / exit while going around a circular road provided around the central island in a certain direction. In order to enable smooth traffic at a roundabout, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, current position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, guidance intersection determination means for determining whether the guidance intersection is a rotary, Guidance information acquisition means for acquiring the direction of the exit path with respect to the approach road related to the roundabout determined by the guidance intersection determination means and exit information of the exit path, and guidance of the direction of the exit path acquired by the guidance information acquisition means, A navigation device having guidance control means for performing exit guidance on an exit route is disclosed.

JP 2002-202146 A

  Because the roundabout uses a different method of traffic from normal intersections, it is considered that the driver is paying more attention to the surrounding traffic conditions. For this reason, it is desirable to provide further driving assistance to the driver at the rotary intersection. In patent document 1 mentioned above, it guides the exit route from a rotary intersection, and does not perform the driving assistance in a rotary intersection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that can support driving of a vehicle at a rotary intersection.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the driving support device according to the invention of claim 1 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit at a rotary intersection provided with a plurality of entrances / exits. Detecting means; recording means for recording a detection result by the detecting means; entry determining means for determining whether or not the own vehicle enters any of the entrance / exit; and When entering the entry / exit exit, there is a pedestrian judging means for judging whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit based on the detection result recorded in the recording means, and there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit entrance. A notification means for performing notification regarding the pedestrian.
In the driving support apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the detection means includes a camera installed with the traveling direction as a shooting range, an acquisition means for acquiring position information of the entrance / exit, and a captured image of the camera. Image analysis means for analyzing and detecting the presence / absence of the pedestrian at the position of each entrance / exit.
In the driving support apparatus according to the invention of claim 3, the detection means is obtained by the radar installed with the traveling direction as a detection range, the acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the entrance / exit, and the radar. And reflected wave analysis means for analyzing the reflected wave and detecting the presence or absence of the pedestrian at each entrance / exit position.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the driving support apparatus, the entry determination unit detects an operation of the own vehicle on the turn signal, and the turn signal blinks in any one of the entrance / exit directions. It is determined that the vehicle enters the entrance / exit.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the detection result is recorded by detecting the presence or absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit, and when the own vehicle enters any of the entrances / exits, the recorded detection is performed. Based on the result, it is determined whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit, and if there is a pedestrian, a notification regarding the pedestrian is made. Accordingly, the driver can quickly know the presence of a pedestrian when there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit where the host vehicle enters, and can support driving during traveling at the rotary intersection.
According to the invention of claim 2, as the detection means, a camera installed with the traveling direction as the shooting range, an acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the entrance / exit, and each entrance / exit entrance by analyzing the captured image of the camera And image analysis means for detecting the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the position. Since the detection result by the detection means is recorded in the recording means, the shooting range of the camera used as the detection means is fixed in the traveling direction, and the entrance / exit entrance is included in the shooting range immediately before the vehicle enters the entrance / exit Even if not, the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit can be notified.
According to the invention of claim 3, as the detection means, the radar installed with the traveling direction as the detection range, the acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the entrance / exit, and the reflected wave obtained by the radar are analyzed to analyze each Reflected wave analysis means for detecting the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the position of the entrance / exit. Since the detection result by the detection means is recorded in the recording means, the detection range of the radar used as the detection means is fixed in the traveling direction, and the entrance / exit entrance is included in the detection range immediately before the own vehicle enters the entrance / exit Even if not, the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit can be notified.
According to invention of Claim 4, the presence or absence of approach to the entrance / exit is judged based on operation with respect to the turn signal of the own vehicle. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not there is an entrance to the entrance / exit by a simple method.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the hardware constitutions of the driving assistance device 10 concerning embodiment. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a driving support device 10. FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a pedestrian notification method by the driving support device 10. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the driving support device 10.

  Exemplary embodiments of a driving support apparatus according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the driving support device 10 according to the embodiment. The driving support device 10 is mounted on a vehicle and outputs driving support information for supporting driving of the vehicle to the driver. In particular, in the present embodiment, driving assistance at a rotary intersection will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, the driving support device 10 outputs driving support information using the user interface of the car navigation device.

  The driving support apparatus 10 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a recording medium drive 104, a recording medium 105, an audio I / F 106, a microphone 107, a speaker 108, an input device 109, a video I / F 110, a display 111, a camera 112, a communication I / F. F113, GPS unit 114, and various sensors 115 are comprised. Each component 101 to 115 is connected by a bus 120.

  The CPU 101 governs overall control of the driving support device 10. The ROM 102 stores various programs such as a boot program, a current position calculation program, a communication program, and a driving support information output program. The RAM 103 is used as a work area for the CPU 101.

  The recording medium drive 104 controls reading / writing of data with respect to the recording medium 105 according to the control of the CPU 101. The recording medium 105 is a recording medium from / to which data is read / written according to the control of the recording medium drive 104. The recording medium 105 records map data used for route guidance and route search. As the recording medium 105, for example, an HD (hard disk), DVD, memory card, or the like can be used.

  The audio I / F 106 is connected to the microphone 107 and the speaker 108 and controls input / output of audio. The microphone 107 collects voice spoken by the user and converts it into voice data. The speaker 108 outputs driving support information output as audio information as part of driving support information output means described later. The speaker 108 outputs voice information such as route guidance voice and music.

  The input device 109 is a remote controller having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, etc., a touch panel, operation buttons, and the like. Further, as the input device 109, a microphone 107 that collects a user operation instruction voice may be used.

  The video I / F 110 is connected to the display 111 and the camera 112 and controls image display on the display 111 and image capturing on the camera 112. The display 111 outputs driving support information output as image information as part of driving support information output means described later. The display 111 displays map data around the current position of the vehicle and various data such as icons, cursors, menus, windows, characters and images. The map data displayed on the display 111 can be displayed with a mark representing the current location of the vehicle on which the driving support device 10 is mounted. The camera 112 captures the inside and outside of the vehicle and generates captured image data. Image data captured by the camera 112 is used to generate driving support information. A plurality of cameras 112 may be provided in the vehicle.

  The communication I / F 113 is connected to a network via wireless and functions as an interface between the network and the CPU 101. The GPS unit 114 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information indicating the current position of the vehicle. The information indicating the current position of the vehicle is, for example, latitude / longitude information. Output information from the GPS unit 114 is used when the CPU 101 calculates the current location of the vehicle.

  Various sensors 115 are provided in each part of the vehicle, and detect vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle. These include a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle, a handle sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel, a shift position sensor that detects the shift position, and a pedal sensor that detects the amount of depression of the brake and accelerator. Further, as various sensors 115, a radar that detects a moving body (such as another vehicle or a pedestrian) around the vehicle may be mounted.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the driving support device 10. The driving support device 10 includes a detection unit 202, a recording unit 204, an entry determination unit 206, a pedestrian determination unit 208, and a notification unit 210. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the detection means 202 is executed by the camera 112, the GPS unit 114, and the CPU 101 executing various programs, and the recording means 204 is changed by the recording medium drive 104 and the recording medium 105, and the entry determination means 206 and The pedestrian determination unit 208 is realized by the CPU 101 executing various programs, and the notification unit 210 is realized by the speaker 108 and the display 111 shown in FIG.

  The detection means 202 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit at a rotary intersection provided with a plurality of entrances / exits. The detection means 202 includes, for example, a camera 112 installed with the direction of travel as the shooting range, an acquisition means 202a for acquiring position information of the entrance / exit, and a walk at the position of each entrance / exit by analyzing the captured image of the camera 112. Image analysis means 202b for detecting the presence or absence of a person. In addition, instead of the camera 112, the detection means 202 is provided with a radar set with the traveling direction as a detection range, and instead of the image analysis means 202b, the reflected waves obtained by the radar are analyzed to analyze each entrance / exit. You may provide the reflected wave analysis means which detects the presence or absence of the pedestrian in a position.

  In the detection means 202, the camera 112 always captures the traveling direction while the vehicle is traveling. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the shooting range of the camera 112 is fixed. Since the driving support device 10 is provided with the GPS unit 114, which point the photographed image of the camera 112 was photographed from the position and traveling direction of the host vehicle (that is, the photographing point reflected in the photographed image) Can be specified. When the shooting range of the camera 112 can be changed (when functions such as pan, tilt, and zoom are provided), the shooting point is determined from the pan value, tilt value, and zoom value at the time of shooting together with the position and traveling direction of the host vehicle. Can be specified. The camera 112 may be activated only when the host vehicle enters a rotary intersection.

  When the own vehicle enters the rotary intersection, the detection unit 202 acquires the position information of the entrance / exit entrance in the rotary intersection by the acquisition unit 202a. The acquisition unit 202a acquires the position information by, for example, reading the position information of each entrance / exit at the rotary intersection from the map data recorded on the recording medium 105.

  The image analysis unit 202b captures an image obtained by photographing the entrance / exit of the rotary intersection among the photographed images of the camera 112 (that is, a photographed image whose position information indicating the photographing point of the photographed image matches the position information of the entrance / exit). Identify and determine whether a pedestrian is shown in this image. When a pedestrian is shown in the image, it is determined that there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit. In the present embodiment, the pedestrian includes not only a person moving on foot but also a person on a light vehicle such as a bicycle.

  Further, the image analysis unit 202b may identify a part where a pedestrian is shown from the photographed image, and determine whether or not the position information of the photographing point of this part matches the position information of the entrance / exit. In this case, when the position information of the photographing point of the image showing the pedestrian matches the position information of the entrance / exit, it is determined that there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit. Further, the image analysis unit 202b may specify the entrance / exit from the features reflected in the captured image, instead of using the location information of the entrance / exit. The features in this case are, for example, road shapes, traffic lights, road signs, and the like.

  The recording unit 204 records the detection result by the detection unit 202. The recording unit 204 records, for example, an entrance / exit ID for identifying a plurality of entrances / exits at a rotary intersection and the presence / absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit. Note that time information indicating the time at which the detection is performed may be recorded in the recording unit 204 in association with the detection result by the detection unit 202 (the presence or absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit).

  The entry determination means 206 determines whether or not the own vehicle enters any of the entrance / exit. The entry determination means 206 detects, for example, an operation on the turn signal of the host vehicle, and determines that the host vehicle enters the entrance / exit when the turn signal is blinked in any of the entrance / exit directions. Further, the entry judgment means 206 enters the roundabout at the own vehicle based on the current position information and traveling direction information of the own vehicle and the map data around the own vehicle. It may be detected that the vehicle has passed and entered a roundabout. In addition, when a route is set in the navigation device, the entry determination unit 206 may identify an entrance / exit entrance where the host vehicle enters based on the set route.

  The pedestrian determination means 208 determines whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit based on the detection result recorded in the recording means 204 when the host vehicle enters any of the entrance / exit. The pedestrian determination unit 208 specifies, for example, the entrance / exit entrance ID of the entrance / exit that is determined to be entered by the entry determination unit 206, and reads the detection result corresponding to the entrance / exit ID from the recording unit 204. . If the detection result corresponding to the entrance / exit ID is “pedestrian present”, it is determined that there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit. When the detection result corresponding to the entrance / exit ID is “no pedestrian”, it is determined that there is no pedestrian at the entrance / exit.

  When the pedestrian is at the entrance / exit where the own vehicle enters, the notification unit 210 performs notification regarding the pedestrian. For example, the notification unit 210 displays a voice message such as “There is a pedestrian in the direction of travel. Please be careful” from the speaker 108, or an icon or message indicating the pedestrian on the map data displayed on the display 111. By displaying, the pedestrian is notified.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a pedestrian notification method by the driving support device 10. FIGS. 3A to 3D show a situation where the host vehicle C enters the rotary intersection R from the entrance / exit F1 and exits the rotary intersection R from the entrance / exit F3. The roundabout R has four entrances F1 to F4. The roundabout R is assumed to travel counterclockwise. A pedestrian H is located in the vicinity of the entrance / exit F3.

  In Fig.3 (a), the own vehicle C is located in the point P1 before this entrance / exit F1. The shooting range of the camera 112 at the position P1 is a range A1. The range A1 includes an entrance / exit port F1 and an entrance / exit port F3. The detection means 202 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit entrance F1 and the entrance / exit entrance F3 from the captured image of the camera 112, respectively. In FIG. 3A, there is no pedestrian within the range A1. That is, since no pedestrian is shown in the photographed image, the recording means 204 records “no pedestrian” at the entrances / exits F1 and F3.

  When the host vehicle C approaches the entrance / exit entrance F1 within a predetermined distance (or when a right turn turn signal operation or the like is performed), the entry determination means 206 determines that the host vehicle C enters the entrance / exit entrance F1. The pedestrian determination unit 208 refers to the recording unit 204 to determine whether there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F1. Since the recording means 204 records “no pedestrian” at the entrance / exit F1, the pedestrian judging means 208 judges “no pedestrian” at the entrance / exit F1, and the notifying means 210 performs the notification. Absent.

  Next, in FIG.3 (b), the own vehicle C approached the entrance / exit F1, and is located in the point P2. The shooting range of the camera 112 at the position P2 is a range A2. The range A2 includes the entrance / exit F3. The detection means 202 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F3 from the photographed image of the camera 112. In FIG. 3B, the pedestrian H is included in the range A2. That is, a pedestrian is shown in the captured image. Therefore, the recording means 204 records “pedestrian present” at the entrance / exit F3.

  In FIG. 3B, when the host vehicle C further moves and is positioned at the point P3, the shooting range of the camera 112 becomes the range A3. The range A3 includes the entrance / exit F2. The detection means 202 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F2 from the image taken by the camera 112. In FIG. 3B, there is no pedestrian H in the range A3. That is, since no pedestrian is shown in the captured image, the recording means 204 records “no pedestrian” at the entrance / exit F2.

  Subsequently, in FIG. 3C, when the host vehicle C is located at the point P4, the shooting range of the camera 112 becomes the range A4. The range A4 includes the entrance / exit F3. The detection means 202 detects the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F3 from the photographed image of the camera 112. In FIG.3 (c), the pedestrian H is included in the range A4 again. That is, the pedestrian H is reflected in the captured image. For this reason, the recording means 204 overwrites and records “pedestrian presence” at the entrance / exit F3. In FIG. 3C, when the pedestrian is not shown in the captured image (such as when the pedestrian moves while the host vehicle C moves from the point P2 to the point P4), the recording unit 204 includes “No pedestrian” is overwritten and recorded in the entrance / exit F3.

  In FIG. 3 (c), the host vehicle C passes through the vicinity of the entrance / exit F2, but the driver does not intend to enter the entrance / exit F2, so that the operation to the winker is not performed. For this reason, the entry determination unit 206 determines that the host vehicle C does not enter the entrance / exit F2, and the pedestrian determination unit 208 does not determine whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F2.

  In FIG. 3D, when the host vehicle C moves to a point P5 that is in the vicinity of the entrance / exit F3, the driver who has an intention to enter the entrance / exit F3 operates to make a right turn sign to the turn signal. . The entry determination means 206 determines that the host vehicle enters the entrance / exit F3 on the right side in the traveling direction. The pedestrian determination unit 208 refers to the detection result related to the entrance / exit F3 recorded in the recording unit 204. The recording means 204 records “Pedestrian presence” as the detection result at the point P4. For this reason, the pedestrian determination means 208 determines that “there is a pedestrian” at the entrance / exit F3. The notification means 210 notifies that there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit F3.

  The driver can know the presence of pedestrians around the entrance / exit where the own vehicle enters through the notification from the notification means 210 and can take measures such as slow driving. At the point P5, the shooting range of the camera 112 is the range A5, but the entrance / exit F3 is not included in the range A5. However, the driving assistance device 10 can make a notification regarding the presence or absence of a pedestrian using a record when the entrance / exit F3 has entered the imaging range of the camera 112 in the past. This utilizes the property that the roundabout is circular.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the driving support device 10. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the driving support device 10 captures the traveling direction of the host vehicle with the camera 112 (step S <b> 401). Note that shooting with the camera 112 is continuously performed in subsequent steps. The entry determination unit 206 determines whether or not the host vehicle enters the rotary intersection (step S402). When the vehicle does not enter the rotary intersection (step S402: No), the entry determination unit 206 returns to step S401 and takes an image with the camera 112. continue.

  On the other hand, when the own vehicle enters the rotary intersection (step S402: Yes), the acquisition unit 202a acquires the position information of the entrance / exit of the rotary intersection (step S403). The image analysis unit 202b determines whether or not the shooting range of the camera 112 includes an entrance / exit (step S404). At this time, the image analysis unit 202b also determines which of the entrance / exit openings provided at the rotary intersection is included in the imaging range (specification of the entrance / exit ID). When the shooting range of the camera 112 does not include the entrance / exit entrance (step S404: No), the process proceeds to step S408.

  When the shooting range of the camera 112 includes an entrance / exit (step S404: Yes), the image analysis unit 202b determines whether or not a pedestrian is reflected in the shot image of the camera 112 (step S405). If a pedestrian is shown in the captured image (step S405: Yes), the recording unit 204 records “pedestrian present” together with the entrance / exit ID of the captured entrance / exit entrance (step S406). On the other hand, when the pedestrian is not shown in the photographed image (step S405: No), the recording unit 204 records “no pedestrian” together with the entrance / exit ID of the entrance / exit that was photographed (step S407).

  Until the turn signal of the host vehicle is operated (step S408: No), the driving support device 10 returns to step S404 and repeats the subsequent processing. Note that the winker operation in step S408 is an example of a determination material for determining whether or not the own vehicle enters the entrance / exit by the entry determination means 206, and the entrance / exit is determined based on other operations or the movement of the driver. A determination of whether or not to enter the mouth may be made.

  When the turn signal of the host vehicle is operated (step S408: Yes), the entry determination unit 206 specifies an entrance / exit entrance into which the host vehicle enters (step S409). For example, the entry determination means 206 identifies the entrance / exit on the side where the turn signal in the traveling direction of the host vehicle is issued, and the entrance / exit where the own vehicle enters the entrance / exit that has the shortest distance from the own vehicle. Identify exit.

  The pedestrian determination means 208 reads the record of the entrance / exit specified in step S409 from the recording means 204, and determines whether or not “pedestrian present” is recorded (step S410). When “Pedestrian presence” is recorded (step S410: Yes), the notification unit 210 notifies the driver of the presence of a pedestrian (step S411). On the other hand, when “Pedestrian presence” is not recorded (step S410: No), that is, “No pedestrian” is recorded, or when there is no recording in the recording means 204 (for example, the shooting range once) If not entered, etc.), the process proceeds to step S412 without performing notification.

  When the host vehicle leaves the roundabout, the recording unit 204 resets the pedestrian record at the roundabout (step S412), and ends the processing according to this flowchart.

  As described above, according to the driving support device 10 according to the embodiment, the presence or absence of a pedestrian at each entrance / exit is detected and the detection result is recorded, and the own vehicle is placed at any entrance / exit. In the case of entering, it is determined whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit based on the recorded detection result. If there is a pedestrian, a notification regarding the pedestrian is made. Accordingly, the driver can quickly know the presence of a pedestrian when there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit where the host vehicle enters, and can support driving during traveling at the rotary intersection.

  In addition, according to the driving support device 10, as the detection unit 202, the camera 112 installed with the traveling direction as the imaging range, the acquisition unit 202a that acquires the position information of the entrance / exit, and the captured image of the camera 112 are analyzed. Image analysis means 202b for detecting the presence or absence of a pedestrian at the position of each entrance / exit. Since the detection result by the detection unit 202 is recorded in the recording unit 204, the shooting range of the camera 112 used as the detection unit 202 is fixed in the traveling direction, and the entrance / exit entrance immediately before the host vehicle enters the entrance / exit entrance. Even if it is not included in the shooting range, the presence / absence of a pedestrian at the entrance / exit can be notified. Further, even if a radar is used as the detection unit 202 in place of the camera 112, the same effect can be obtained.

  Moreover, according to the driving assistance apparatus 10, the presence or absence of approach to the entrance / exit is determined based on the operation of the own vehicle with respect to the turn signal. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not there is an entrance to the entrance / exit by a simple method.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Driving assistance device, 112 ... Camera, 202 ... Detection means, 202a ... Acquisition means, 202b ... Image analysis means, 204 ... Recording means, 206 ... Approach determination means, 208 ... Pedestrian determination Means, 210 ... notification means.

Claims (4)

Detection means for detecting the presence or absence of pedestrians at each entrance and exit at a rotary intersection provided with a plurality of entrances and exits,
Recording means for recording a detection result by the detection means;
Entry determination means for determining whether or not the own vehicle enters any of the entrances and exits;
A pedestrian determination means for determining whether or not there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit based on the detection result recorded in the recording means when the host vehicle enters any of the entrance / exit openings;
When there is a pedestrian at the entrance / exit, notification means for performing notification regarding the pedestrian,
A driving support apparatus comprising:   The detection means includes a camera installed with the traveling direction as a shooting range, an acquisition means for acquiring position information of the entrance / exit, and the walking at each entrance / exit position by analyzing a captured image of the camera. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image analysis unit that detects the presence or absence of a person.   The detection means includes a radar installed with the traveling direction as a detection range, an acquisition means for acquiring positional information of the entrance / exit, and a position of each entrance / exit by analyzing a reflected wave obtained by the radar. The driving support device according to claim 1, further comprising: reflected wave analysis means for detecting presence or absence of the pedestrian in the vehicle.   The entry determination means detects an operation of the own vehicle on the turn signal, and determines that the own vehicle enters the entrance / exit when the turn signal is blinked in any of the entry / exit directions. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein

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